Combined coat and skirt hanger



Au 7, 1 945. E. HALL 2,381,159

COMBINED COAT AND SKIRT HANGER Filed Aug. 9, 1944 INMWWR ELMO HALLPatented Aug. 7, 1945 I UNITED STATES PATENT orrice 2,381,159 COMBINEDCOAT AND snm'r HANGER Elmo Hall, Denver, c010. ApplicationAugust 9,1944, Serial No. 548,675 4 Claims. (01. 223-91) This invention relatesto improvements in coat hangers and has reference more particularly to ahanger that can be employed in connection with skirts and stockings aswell as with coats.

The ordinary coat hanger is usually made from wire and has twooppositely extending arms provided at their center points with a hook bymeans of which the hanger can be supported frbm a bar or othersupporting means. Such coat hangers are well known and are oftenprovided with clothes pins or other clips for supporting trousers.

It .is the object of this invention to produce a modified and improvedform of coat hanger which is provided with four arms that are adjustablyconnected with the supporting element so, that they may project in fourseparate directions and spaced ninety degrees apart, or which may befolded into the form of an ordinary coat hanger in which two of the armsproject from opposite sides of the supporting means. Another object ofthis invention is to produce a coat hangerwhich can be readilydisassembled for transportation and which will therefore be well adaptedfor travelers as it can be packed into a small space when not in use.

Another object of this invention is to produce a coat hanger in whichthe four arms can be positioned, either at right angles towards eachother, or in substantially parallel planes and which is provided withmeans for holding them in either of the two positions.

A still further obj ect of the invention is to produce a coat hanger inwhich the arms are so constructed that they can not be easilydisconnected from the supporting element.

The above and other objects that may become apparent as this descriptionproceeds are attained by means of a construction and an arrangement ofparts that will now be described in detail and for this purposereference will be had to the accompanying drawing in which the inventionhas been illustrated in its preferred form, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the hanger showing the parts inexpanded position;

Figure 2 is a top viewof the hanger shown in Figure 1, looking in thedirection of plane 2-2, Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the hanger showing the same in foldedposition and looking in the direction of arrow 3-3, Figure 4;

Figure 4 is a top planview looking in the direction of arrow 4, inFigure 3;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary diametrical' section to an enlarged scale andhows more clearly the construction of the parts;

Figure 6 is a section taken on line 6-6, Figure 5; s

Figure 7 is a ure 6; I

Figure 8 is a section taken on line 8B, Figure 1, and illustrates oneform of a clip that is suitable for use with the hanger; and

Figure 9 is a side elevation looking in the direction of arrow. 9,Figure 8.

In the drawing, reference numeral Ill desighates a supporting bar andextending downwardly from this bar is a hanger constructed in accordancewith this invention. The hanger consists of a vertical supportingelement l i having a hook l2 that engages the supporting bar. Secured tothe supporting element are two disks I3 and It. These disks may beduplicates, or they may differ slightly from each other in a mannerwhich will hereinafter appear. Each disk has been shown as providedwithfour holes l5 that are spaced ninety degrees apart. The disks aresecured to the supporting element H by means of solder or other meansIt. The means for securing the disks i3 and it to the bar II, which hasbeen shown in the drawingyis merely illustrative, and any other suitablemeans for this purpose may be employed. The disks should preferably beso secured to bar ii that they lie in planes perpendicular t thesupporting element. In Figure 6, a top plain view of disk It has beenshown and from this it will be observed that depressed areas ll extendradially from the holes l5. When the supporting arms, which willpresently be described, are in position, they will be held in radialposition by these depressions. Ex-

section taken on line I-'i, Figtending at angles 10 to the depressionll, are

other depressions 18 that serve to hold the arms in the position shownin Figure 4. The supporting arms, of which four have been shown, areformed from a steel wire which is preferably quite resilient and ofconsiderable strength. The

. arms are bent into what maybe loosely desig- The ends of the tensionelements are bent downwardly as indicated at 24 and terminate in a shorthook 25. The arms are normally much closer together than shown in thedrawing and therefore when they are spread apart and positioned betweenthe disks #3 and 14, there results a force tendin to move them towardseach other and this force serves to prevent accidental disconnection.The hook 25 serves to prevent ready removal and therefore functions tohold the arms in place. Slidably connected with each ar is a spring clip26 which may be of the construction shown in Figures 8 and 9 or of anyother suitable construction. Various types of spring clips are availableon the market and the one shown is merely illustrative of means and canbe replaced by any other mechanical equivalent.

When a skirt is to be supported, the arms are arranged as in Figure 1and the skirt is buttoned and suspended from the hanger in the mannerindicated by dotted lines in Figure 1. Stockings can be suspended fromthe clips 26 or any other garment can be suspended by means of theseclips. If a coat or similar article is to be supported, the arms canbemoved into the position shown in Figure 4, whereupon the devicefunctions like the ordinary coat hanger and is of great strength becausethere are two arms extending from each side; When the parts are in theposition shown in Figure 4 the arms are resting in the depressions 18,which serve to hold them in the position shown.

From the above description, taken in connection with the drawing, itwill be apparent that the coat and skirt hanger which has been describedabove has some marked functional advantages over the ordinary hangermore particularly in this, that it can be readily employed forsupporting skirts and when the latter are in position thereon, they arekept from wrinkling and the inner surface is spread apart so as tofacilitate aeration and in case a skirt is to be dried, this deviceserves admirably as a support during the drying period.

Particular attention -iscalled to the positioning depressions l1 and I8which form a useful function in connection with the type of hanger abovedescribed. The hooks 25, at the ends of arm members 2|, together withelongated openings I 5, like those shown in Figure 6, also perform a newand useful function in preventing the arms from being accidentallydisconnected. It is evident that any force tending to disconnect thearms must operate in the direction of arrow 21 in Figure 3 and thistends to move the upper portion of the arm inwardly, whereupon the hook25 will become operative and prevent detachment. The lengths of theholes l5 are sufilcient to permit the hooks 25 to be withdrawn whendisconnection is desired.

Attention is also directed to the fact that holes [5 are elongated in adirection substantially perpendicular to the radii passing through themand that the offset ends 25 and 23 are longer than the width of theholes and shorter than the length of the holes. With this arrangement,the corresponding ends of the arms can be'inserted and removed only whenthe planes of thearms are parallel with. the longitudinal axis of theholes. This relationship is necessary for one of the disks only becausean offset end like 23 in Figure 5 can be inserted into a round hole ofslightly larger size as long as the other end is not attached to theother disk because the arms can then be tilted to effect this-insertion.Since the disks can as well be duplicated, they are usually so made.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A combined coat and skirthanger comprising, a supporting bar adaptedfor vertical suspension, two disks secured to the bar in fixed spacedrelation, in planes perpendicular to the bar, the disks having the samenumber of equiangularly spaced holes, the disks being arranged with thecorresponding holes positioned in the same diametrical plane, formingcooperating pairs, and a V-shaped supporting arm for each pair of holes,the limbs of each arm terminating in hooks lying in the plane of the armand extending in the same direction, for engagement in the upper andlower hole of each pair. the hook on the lower limb being forwardly anddownwardly inclined, the upper limb having a downwardly extending endportion for insertion in the corresponding hole in the upper disk.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which the upper surfaceof atleast one of the disks has depressions extending radially from each holeto position the supporting arms and hold them in a radial position. v

3. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which the upper surface of atleast one of the disks has depressions extending radially from each holeto position the supporting arms and hold them in a radial position andother depressions extending outwardly in a direction slightly inclinedtowards a commondiameter.

4. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which the holes in at leastone of the disks are elongated in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the corresponding radii and in which the ends of thesupporting arms have offset ends greater in length than the width of theholes and less than their length.

ELMO HALL.

